Our Curriculum Ethos
Intent
At Northcote Primary school, we have taken our school motto of ‘Caring, Learning, Growing’ and woven those values throughout our curriculum offer. We care deeply about all children within our school community and therefore our curriculum is designed with the intent of maximising the potential of all of our pupils; intellectually, socially, morally, emotionally and culturally. Our staff know that if our children feel safe, cared for and valued they will flourish and succeed.
We understand that providing meaningful and lasting learning experiences is key to ensuring our children have great futures; we take every opportunity to encourage a love for learning within all of our pupils, ensuring the curriculum they experience is broad and balanced, so that each individual can find their passion.
As a school, we want to prepare our children for their future lives once they leave us. Raising aspirations through a curriculum that challenges, inspires, builds resilience and motivates all learners allows our children to grow in every aspect of their development. Our children’s ‘Cultural Capital’ is grown not just through our ambitious curriculum, but through carefully planned trips, visitors and extra curricular activities.
Implementation
Each subject within our curriculum has been carefully sequenced to ensure that learning is progressive and that key knowledge, skills and vocabulary are explicit throughout. We have identified three strands of our curriculum:
Personal Development (P.S.H.E, R.S.E, P.E and R.E)
As a school, we recognise that the personal development of our children is of the same importance as their academic development. The curriculum design within this area is relevant to the children in our context and is informed by the views of all stakeholders. We have a fully comprehensive PSHE curriculum, which includes statutory objectives for R.S.E. This is enriched by themed days and weeks across the year. Our P.E curriculum is centred around a holistic approach focusing on the key theme of ‘Head, Hands, Heart’ and our R.E curriculum strives to ensure that our children become respectful individuals and accept a wide range of cultures and religions.
Core Learning (English, Maths, Science)
At Northcote Primary school we are passionate about every child being a reader. We secure early reading through a rigorous approach to teaching phonics in Reception and Key Stage 1 following the Little Wandle Letters and Sounds Revised progression, which ensures children build on their growing knowledge of the alphabetic code, mastering phonics to read and spell as they move through school. Children’s love of reading is nurtured through daily shared story time and shared reading sessions.
Our English curriculum is designed so that children have the opportunity to write across many genres, for different purposes. We develop their vocabulary and language through carefully selected texts and promoting oracy through whole class and group discussions. We equip children with the essential skills they need for coherent writing through daily spellings sessions and grammar and punctuation activities are interwoven into each lesson. We inspire our children to be authors by regularly publishing their writing around school and encouraging them to take part in exciting writing competitions.
Our Maths curriculum prioritises securing early number skills, mental methods and building fluency across the four operations. Children encounter a range of problem solving activities and are encouraged to think and speak mathematically with their peers. Northcote Primary School is proud to be partnered with our local Maths Hub, in our commitment to developing our maths teaching and learning.
Through our Science curriculum, we ensure that children gain a deep understanding of working scientifically. Children are challenged to think and work like scientists asking and investigating questions that will inspire awe and wonder.
Citizens of the World (History, Geography, Art and Design, Design Technology, Music, Spanish and Computing)
Through this strand of our curriculum we develop our children’s creativity, critical thinking skills, knowledge of the world around them and it’s rich history. We equip them with essentials skills to use advancing technology and allow them to apply their learning to purposeful outcomes. Children are taught by specialist teachers for Spanish and Music, and teachers have access to various subject associations meaning that teaching is informed by good subject knowledge and best practice in each area.
Our curriculum implementation is successful because of the high quality support, guidance and teaching that our dedicated staff provide. Good subject knowledge is delivered to the children in an engaging way, then intelligent repetition of key skills, concepts and knowledge is covered. Purposeful assessments are completed to guide future teaching and learning and inform on the level of differentiation.
Impact
Subject Leaders provide staff with year group specific and whole school curriculum maps. This ensures that essential knowledge, skills and vocabulary are taught in a sequential order. Learning is evaluated by leaders in the school by observing teaching, sampling children’s work and talking to pupils, parents and staff to ensure that the intended curriculum is being delivered.
Formal assessments are completed in Reading, Writing and Mathematics and data from these assessments is used to identify gaps in learning, leading to swift intervention by the adults in class. The use of quizzing, proof of progress tasks and writing opportunities are also used as more formal methods of assessment. Regular formative assessment is used across our curriculum and forms an important part of our foundation subjects, informing teachers of next steps in learning for all children.
Here are our curriculum overviews for each year group to give guidance on coverage. Details of or English and Maths curriculum can be found on those subject pages.
Year 1 Yearly Overview 2024-2025
Year 2 Year Overview 2024-2025
Year 3 Year Overview 2024-2025
Year 4 Year Overview 2024-2025
Year 5 Year Overview 2024-2025
Year 6 Year overview 2024-2025
We are currently redeveloping our Teaching and Learning Policy. An updated version will be available in the Autumn Term 2024.